You can use either. Sometimes there is a single thing that makes the choice obvious but most of the time it is a subjective perception of value and usefulness.
Games: Macbooks have very limited graphics chips and only the Macbook Pro has something decent in the form of a NVIDIA 9600 but even that is just a mid-range chip.
Check here for laptop graphics chips and how they perform in games:
CPU: any
RAM: 4 gig
Hard drive: 7200 rpm is a minimum
Video: any dedicated chip with it’s own dedicated video RAM for decent system stability – this is vital.
LCD: look closely at resolution. I prefer 1920×1200. Get a LED backlight
I will list the Macbook specs below but only the Macbook Pro 17" meets the above criteria with the right component selection. The other Macs are obviously over-priced sub-par laptops.
You can find a good PC with the above specs between $750 and $1500. Unfortunately a decent Macbook Pro is more expensive.
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1. Macbook
CPU: 2.0 or 2.4 both fine
RAM: 2 gig is crap but can get 4 gig
Hard Drive: 5400 rpm is crap but you can get a solid state drive.
Video: NVIDIA 9400M shared RAM is crap with no upgrade.
LCD: 1280×800 is laughably as crappy on any brand.
2. Macbook Pro
CPU: 2.4 or 2.66 is fine.
RAM: 1 of the 15′s comes with 4g and the 17 comes with 4gig expandable to 8 gig which is great!
Hard Drive: All models come with crap 5400 rpm hard drives but they can all be configured with either decent 7200 rpm hard drives or solid state hard drives.
Video: 9600M GT is mid-range but decent.
LCD: Both 15 LCD’s are crappy 1440×900 but the 17 is a nice 1920×1200 LCD with a LED backlight and a professional anti-glare option.
3. Conclusion: the Macbook Pro 17 has the ability to be configured with decent components that would make the laptop feel almost as capable as a desktop computer.
I can recommend the 17" Macbook Pro model highly for Mac users and also Windows users as long as the better hard drive is selected.
The other Macbooks are obviously missing some essential components one would expect in a modern laptop…
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For a PC laptop you could check for a sale on a premium brand like Sager which has much higher quality than a Mac:
Also there are some mid-range Dells that can be configured with my list of "minimum acceptable components" such as a Dell Studio 15 and a Dell Studio XPS 16.
Additional note: It is a common comparison between Macs and PC’s to compare a low-end cheap PC to a Macbook, but I think it is a bit like apples and oranges in that the cheapest PC’s are so frustratingly bad that they would drive anyone to buy a Mac. This is how Apple can hide their extra profit margin from sub-par components by making sure they offer a "good enough" product. If people would compare a Mac to just a slightly less expensive PC with the right component selection that I detail above, then the PC will be much better value and also a stable enjoyable computer.
You can use either. Sometimes there is a single thing that makes the choice obvious but most of the time it is a subjective perception of value and usefulness.
Games: Macbooks have very limited graphics chips and only the Macbook Pro has something decent in the form of a NVIDIA 9600 but even that is just a mid-range chip.
Check here for laptop graphics chips and how they perform in games:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html
My basic laptop advice for general purpose use:
CPU: any
RAM: 4 gig
Hard drive: 7200 rpm is a minimum
Video: any dedicated chip with it’s own dedicated video RAM for decent system stability – this is vital.
LCD: look closely at resolution. I prefer 1920×1200. Get a LED backlight
I will list the Macbook specs below but only the Macbook Pro 17" meets the above criteria with the right component selection. The other Macs are obviously over-priced sub-par laptops.
You can find a good PC with the above specs between $750 and $1500. Unfortunately a decent Macbook Pro is more expensive.
————————————-
1. Macbook
CPU: 2.0 or 2.4 both fine
RAM: 2 gig is crap but can get 4 gig
Hard Drive: 5400 rpm is crap but you can get a solid state drive.
Video: NVIDIA 9400M shared RAM is crap with no upgrade.
LCD: 1280×800 is laughably as crappy on any brand.
2. Macbook Pro
CPU: 2.4 or 2.66 is fine.
RAM: 1 of the 15′s comes with 4g and the 17 comes with 4gig expandable to 8 gig which is great!
Hard Drive: All models come with crap 5400 rpm hard drives but they can all be configured with either decent 7200 rpm hard drives or solid state hard drives.
Video: 9600M GT is mid-range but decent.
LCD: Both 15 LCD’s are crappy 1440×900 but the 17 is a nice 1920×1200 LCD with a LED backlight and a professional anti-glare option.
3. Conclusion: the Macbook Pro 17 has the ability to be configured with decent components that would make the laptop feel almost as capable as a desktop computer.
I can recommend the 17" Macbook Pro model highly for Mac users and also Windows users as long as the better hard drive is selected.
The other Macbooks are obviously missing some essential components one would expect in a modern laptop…
———————————
For a PC laptop you could check for a sale on a premium brand like Sager which has much higher quality than a Mac:
http://www.sagernotebook.com/default.php
Also there are some mid-range Dells that can be configured with my list of "minimum acceptable components" such as a Dell Studio 15 and a Dell Studio XPS 16.
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3540
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Studio-15-Notebook.10752.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Studio-XPS-16-Notebook.14431.0.html
———————-
Additional note: It is a common comparison between Macs and PC’s to compare a low-end cheap PC to a Macbook, but I think it is a bit like apples and oranges in that the cheapest PC’s are so frustratingly bad that they would drive anyone to buy a Mac. This is how Apple can hide their extra profit margin from sub-par components by making sure they offer a "good enough" product. If people would compare a Mac to just a slightly less expensive PC with the right component selection that I detail above, then the PC will be much better value and also a stable enjoyable computer.